Just Braggin'

No sense in hiding it, I'm just gonna come out and say it: this post is all about bragging about my little cutie pants!

But, look at that picture and tell me I'm not justified? :)

Allison is the happiest baby. Sweet, content, and very alert. She spends most of her waking moments smiling (although I am hard pressed to get an actual picture of a smile!) and cooing. And as for night? She wakes at 2 and 6am to eat, and goes back to sleep without a struggle.

She's holding her upper body up and steady, will mimic facial expressions, and is learning how to grab things. (Today she got her first handful of my hair.) And she loves being outside, looking around. Winter has bad timing, because I know she would absolutely love stroller rides through the neighborhood.

All of these changes seem like they've come so fast! They are exciting and fun, but remind me she's already out of the little newborn stage. Sometimes I wish there was a way to freeze time, pull my girls up on my lap, and spend forever cuddling them in a rocking chair. *sigh* She is turning 2 months on Wednesday, and in some ways it seems like such a short time. And other times, I feel like that makes her too old. Either way, I can't imagine things without her. We love you, babe!

McKenzie-isms

McKenzie was helping me make Allison smile one morning, and this is the comment I heard about her dimples:

"Oh, look how cute her dinkles are, mommy!"

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At Thanksgiving dinner, McKenzie came running in from the living room

Me: Whats wrong?
McK: I don't like that Elk! He's mean!
(Grandpa Randy has a big stuffed elk hanging on the wall)
Me: It won't hurt you. It's not alive, it just sits there just like the toy animals in your room.
McK: BUT HE BLINKED AT ME!!!!

Thankful

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, I wanted to share a few things I love about my family. Truly, I have been blessed.

McKenzie

1. You are so strong. Your stubbornness can sometimes grate on me, but honestly I am glad you have it. I know your determination will carry you through life and nothing will stand in your way.
2. Your great big eyes. I was so happy when you were born and had your daddy's bright blue eyes! They are so expressive, and nothing gets by your eagle eye.
3. Your enthusiasm. You make me take time to stop and appreciate the everyday things - for example, you literally make me stop and smell every flower we pass. With you, an average day can be so exciting.

Allison

1. I love cuddling you. You love to be held, and nothing makes me happier than holding you close. Feeling you relax against my body as you fall asleep is an amazing experience. But, even better is when I feel you melt against me, and I realize you aren't asleep at all. You are soaking up the moment wide-eyed and loving the cuddle as much as I.
2. I love that you need me. You love seeing new people and spending time with family, but after a few minutes, you are ready to come back to mom. Knowing that you recognize me and won't accept an imitator makes me feel so important.
3. You are so easy. I don't know a better way to explain it. You are easy-going, happy, and rarely make the smallest of cries. I think Heavenly Father knew that I needed a patient, even tempered little one to get me through the adjustment of having two kids. Knowing that makes me feel humble and appreciative.

Cris

1. You balance me. You are the strongest in my weakest areas. And I think I compliment you, as well. Together I think we make the perfect team.
2. You support me. You've never once stood in my way. If I feel strongly about something, or am just up for a new adventure, you may try to talk some sense into me. But not once have you ever told me 'no'.
3. We need each other. Sure, sometimes we may fight. But, even in the biggest of our disagreements, we can't stay mad at each other for long. Not five minutes after an argument, we're back to our playful selves, laughing out loud.

Today I am especially grateful for each of you. You all have unique qualities and abilities that make me stand in awe. I love you all.

We're Back!

My Grandma Dona wanted to get away for her birthday, so I loaded up her, my sister, and my girls, and we drove down to Grandma's condo near Mesquite. The warmer weather was a welcome distraction and encouraged us to get out and enjoy some sunshine. In fact, it felt so nice, we decided to stay an extra day!

Across from Grandmas house is a nice park with a firepit and pavillion. During a little bit of down time, McKenzie and I snuck out and took a few snapshots:

On Grandmas birthday I cooked some cornish game hens, made some bacon-cheddar mashed potatoes and we had a nice dinner in. We even surprised Grandma with a few of her favorites: pumpkin pie and sparkling apple juice!

Malory and Grandma

McKenzie and I

We went for a nice drive through gorgeous Snow Canyon. Each time we go, I hope to catch a glimpse of the tortoises that live there, but I still haven't succeeded. But, we did see six big horn sheep in the gorge!

Every time we drove through the gorge, McKenzie was so intrigued by the Virgin River. She would get excited each time she saw it and beg to get close to it. "Oh please, oh please, mommy!" So, after a few tries, I finally found a spot we could hike down to the river. It ended up being a beautiful spot with a red sand beach, a little vegitation, and some big red boulders. Allison stayed behind with grandma while we went out (thanks, Grams!) but this summer, I'm hoping to take both girls back. The river was wide, shallow and slow moving there, with no rocks. As long as the water flow isn't too fast this summer, I think they would have a ball splashing in the water. Almost like a beach day! :)

I'm noticing now that I don't have any pictures of Allison out and about, which really makes me sad since she was such a super smiley girl! (Other than a day she had a tummy ache. I'm learning I need to be much more careful about what I eat. She's not a fan of onions.)

The girls were better than I could have hoped on the way home! McKenzie napped and spent lots of time pointing things out through the window, and Allison didn't make a single peep until we were about 15 miles from home. Not bad for two little ones on a all day car ride! It was so wonderful because I had such a nice time talking with my Grandma. We laughed, cried and shared lots of stories. I learned a lot about her childhood, family history, and her opinions. It was such a nice mini-vacation. Thanks for running away with me Grandma! And thanks for tagging along, Mal, and helping me round up the kiddos!

Mom, It's NOT Okay!

This weekend I invited Terri and Ashli to see the Madagascar movie with the girls and I. We stopped at McDonalds on the way and made an afternoon of it. At the movie, McKenzie had a little bit of a hard time sitting still through the whole thing, but we let her stretch her legs by standing in front of the empty seats near us. She thought the show was pretty funny, and I considered the outing a success. It was such a nice afternoon!

On our way out of the theater, McKenzie stopped walking and said, "Oh no!" She had spilled a little bit of her root beer on her sweater and had a horrified look on her face. I told her that it was okay, and we'd clean her up at home. She put a determined look on her face, told me "It's NOT okay!", threw her sweater on the floor, and stormed off with her arms folded and her chin stuck up high in the air.

It wasn't behavior I would encourage, but none of us could do anything because we were laughing so hard! What a little diva! She had the whole crowd in stitches.

If this is any hint of what we are in for when she's a teenager, I'm a little frightened! :)

Painfully Polite and Hilariously Hostile

I found a website that laughs at passive-agressive notes people leave for each other. (Well, maybe some are just plain agressive) I thought it was a good time waster. Check it out if you get bored. Enjoy!

http://www.passiveaggressivenotes.com/

Tagged by Amy

Seven TV Shows I watch:

1. House
2. The Office
3. Househunters (and all the other HGTV shows)
4. Celebrity Rehab (guilty pleasure)
5. The Utah Jazz (I have a husband who is addicted)
6. Maggie & The Ferocious Beast (I have children)
7. Sponge Bob Square Pants (ditto)

Seven Things I Did Yesterday:

1. Watched McKenzie paint with watercolors
2. Visited my parents (and mooched a free lunch!)
3. Made foam turkey magnets with Mckenzie and my mom
4. Napped with my cuddle baby snuggled against me
5. Made homemade sugar cookies
6. Delivered cookies and magnet to Grandma and Grandpa Dew and visited with them
7. Went shopping at Wal-Mart (and saw Mindy Palmer and Amber Sagers!)

Favorite Places to Eat:

1. Cafe Rio
2. Olive Garden
3. Rodizio Grill
4. Ocean City (Chinese food)
5. Taco Bell
6. In 'N Out Burger
7. Mimi's Cafe (for their artechoke dip! Yummy!)

Things I Look Forward To:

1. Cris coming home from work
2. McKenzie coming home from preschool
3. Our family vacation in April
4. Christmas!
5. Allison learning to laugh
6. Getting the kids to bed and having a few quiet moments
7. Seeing the play 'Wicked' in April

Things On My Wishlist:

1. Getting the backyard completely landscaped
2. Having a garden
3. Cabinets in my laundry/mud room
4. A new couch
5. A playroom in the basement for the kids
6. Wood floors in the living room
7. A BIG snowstorm just before Christmas

I tag:

1. Malory
2. Shelese
3. Kylee
4. Sara
5. Mindy Palmer
6. Mindy Black
7. Kyra

Lub Click Whoosh Dub

Yesterday was Allisons' cardiology appointment at Primary Children's. After the usual height, weight, and other basic stuff, they covered her with stickers and plugged her into the EKG. Even though I knew that we were having these tests done to help her, it was still so hard to see so many wires attached to my baby.

The doctor came in afterward and listened to her heart. He said that something definitely wasn't right. My heart sunk. Instead of the normal "lub dub" sound of a healthy heart, Allisons goes "lub click whoosh dub". He told us he suspected a faulty heart valve and thought there was also a hole in her heart. He told us she would need an ultrasound, and said he would try and get us in for the test that day. We were on our way to the waiting room, bracing for a long, agonizing wait, when they thankfully called us right back.

They hooked her up to another EKG machine (after we had just ripped about 10 stickers from the last test from her sensitive little skin) and started an ultrasound. Two technicians were in the room, discussing the terms and acronyms I didn't recognize as they did the test. They were very focused and it was obvious they had found the problem, but didn't tell us what it was. They took pictures and measured and discussed for over an hour. We knew they were looking at her lungs and were so scared. They left the room to show the doctor the images and make sure there wasn't anything else he needed. While they were gone Cris told me that he was sure that one of her valves wasn't right from seeing it on the screen. From all of the measurements they took, we thought they gathering information for surgery.

The doctor met with us a short time later and explained the problem. Her pulmonary valve is very thick and isn't opening as it should. The heart is having to use more pressure than normal to get the blood to flow through, and the valve cups out as the blood flows past. He also thought that instead of the valve having three flaps that close, hers only has two.

However, her case is fairly mild. Right now there is no danger to her health. Often children grow and the problem never gets worse. If thats the case, she should have no restrictions and require no treatment. She will see the cardiologist every 3-4 months for the next 2 or 3 years to check the amount of pressure her heart is putting out. If it starts to require more pressure to pass the valve, they will either use a balloon to stretch the valve out, or do heart surgery. If it gets really bad, she will have a valve replacement. Right now, they don't want to do any treatment because it can cause leakage, and the risk would not outweigh the benefit. Luckily they did not find a hole in her heart - even one that the majority of babies have at her age.

He also said that the valve problem is commonly linked to two syndromes, one that effects the liver. It's something the cardiology team and our pediatrician will monitor, but right now, she shows no symptoms. If they start to see some of the physical characteristics on her face (like a very pointy chin) they will send us for genetic testing, but didn't think it was necessary.

So, unfortunately, there is a problem. Of course I wish they would have sent us home with a clean bill of health, but, if my baby has to have a heart problem, this one isn't comparable to some of the horrible problems other people have to go through. We are very thankful. Thankful for the good news, thankful we have caring doctors with amazing equipment, and thankful for a good outlook.

My mean little trick

So, if I hadn't done so already, I have officially crossed the line and become a mean mom.

The last three months it has been really difficult to get McKenzie to stay in bed at night. We read stories, give big hugs and cuddles and anything else we can think of to anticipate her needs before we tuck her in. Somehow, though, she comes out with a million different requests: "I need to hug my daddy again. My nightlight is too bright. I need a different cup of water. I need to potty for the 100th time in the last hour." You get the picture. It had gotten to the point where Cris and I are both losing our temper and night times were not looked forward too.


So, the other day when McKenzie and I were taking down Halloween decorations, I was a little desperate, and used a little creativity. When I started packing up our scary rat, McKenzie stayed far away and kept telling me how frightening it was. There were no tears or anything, but she was definitely wary.


While we worked, I told McKenzie that the rat watched for naughty girls who didn't go to bed like they were supposed to. She asked a bunch of questions and somehow decided that the rat would eat her bellybutton if she didn't stay in her bed. Everytime she walked by the box of decorations, she would cover her stomach, walk far away from the box as possible, and say "Rat, I go to sleep good."

So, being the mean mom that I am, when night time rolled around, I pulled out Mr. Rat and totally took advantage of the situation. I told McKenzie that he would never go into her room, but would wait for her to sneak out when she was naughty. I tried to explain that it was okay to get up and go potty if she really needed to, but he knew if a little girl tried to lie or not. On our way to her bedroom, I sat Mr. Rat in the hallway. McKenzie climbed right into her bed, and after stories and kisses and hugs, rolled over and went right to sleep. That was Monday. We have not had a single sneak out or even a single tear at nap time or bed time since Mr. Rat has been on patrol. It may be evil, but you know what? The peaceful evenings make it SO worth it! :)

First Day of School

McKenzie started preschool today! Our neighbor runs a preschool and had an opening after one of her students moved away. She called and invited McKenzie to join now that she's officially 3 years old. It's just for 2 hours 2 days a week, but I think that's perfect!

I had been wondering how she would do in class, but when I picked her up they said she had been wonderful! She participated in every activity, and even though she was a little nervous when I left her, she didn't have a problem at all. She even got to be the class helper and pass out snacks. She was so proud and happy when I picked her up. I can't believe how fast she is growing up! (sob, sob!)

Funny Things

Our Little Missy has been very vocal lately. She's definitely a three year old, as demonstrated by her constant need to ask 'why' every thirty seconds. She's also been quite funny. Here's a few snippits from our daily life:

On Sunday, we were at my parents house when a young man from the ward stopped by to collect fast offerings. While my mom filled out the paperwork, McKenzie stood in front of that poor boy and stared at him the whole time. She had a fruit roll up hanging out of her mouth, and still refused to take her eyes away from him. When the boy left, McKenzie pressed her face up against the glass of the door, sighed and said, "I love him!"

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Allison was crying one night a few weeks ago, and Cris asked McKenzie what she thought was wrong with her sister. She said, "She needs to eat moms boob!"

BAH! I can't wait for that conversation to come up at the grocery store! Needless to say, we've had several conversations about nursing, and talked a lot about using it's proper name.

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Kennecott had a big party to celebrate the concentrators 20th anniversary this September. Since Cris was in charge of part of the big shin-dig, we went to check it out. We didn't get to spend much time with Cris, but we did get our picture taken in front of a backdrop. Kennecott mailed us the photo the other day:

Is it just me, or does it look like someone just picked something out of her nose?

Halloween Kitties

Grandma Terri and Aunt Ashli had bought McKenzie and adorable belly dance outfit while they were in Turkey this year. I had planned on putting it over a leotard and having it be her Halloween costume.... but McKenzie had other plans. She found a costume at my moms house that she had made for my brother more than 20 years ago, and she fell in love with it. I think it was originally a white tiger, but McKenzie couldnt decide if she wanted to be called a tiger or kitty more, so we alternated throughout the night. But that worked out great, because Allison had been given a kitty costume at a baby shower!



The girls, my parents and I did the Tooele main street trick-or-treat. We had so much fun! And it was so nice not to buckle and unbuckle car seats at a million houses!

While we were crunching through the leaves, my mom saw this tree outside city hall, and suggested we take McKenzies picture in it. I love it!

After Cris got home from work, we had dinner and played cards at home. Trick-or-treating was fun, but actually I think McKenzie had more fun being at home passing out candy to the kids who came to our house. What a silly little girl!